1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to the field of hand tools useful in the construction industry. More specifically, the invention is directed to an improved drilling tool useful for inserting cabling into and through walls during renovation of existing structures.
2. Description of Prior Art
Modem buildings often contain a variety of cables and wires, such as electrical wires, telephone wires, cable TV wiring, Ethernet cables, and the like, within and between their walls. Placing the cabling is a relatively simple task with new construction, since the walls are not yet finished. However, with renovations to existing structures, it is often quite difficult to run cables though existing walls, because of the outer finish of the walls and also due to materials already present within the walls, such as insulation, pipes, existing wiring, and the like. Access to the interior of existing walls is ordinarily performed by drilling into them, using a power drill with an elongated drill bit. However, the resulting holes made by such tools are frequently obstructed by the various materials present within the walls, making it difficult if not impossible to run new cabling therein.
One potential solution to this problem involves the use of a wire snake, a rigid or semi-rigid device that is inserted into a preexisting hole through a wall. The wire or cabling is attached to the trailing end of the snake, and once the leading end of the snake is passed through the exit hole on the opposite side of the wall the snake is drawn through, with the wire following. Examples of wire snake devices are found in Klamm, U.S. Pat. No. D387,254 (Dec. 9, 1997), “Wire Snake” and Klamm, U.S. Pat. No. D403,932 (Jan. 12, 1999), “Combined Wire Snake with Locking Clip”. These patents disclose devices for snaking wiring or cabling through a wall. These snakes have an engagement portion to which the wiring or cabling is attached, after a length of the device has been inserted into and through the wall. Once the wiring or cabling is attached, the device is withdrawn, drawing the wiring or cabling behind it. There is no indication of how the hole is initially prepared, nor how the snake devices may be easily threaded through that hole. Also, Comroe, U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,305 (Oct. 28, 1980), “Fish Grabber for Use in Electrical Wire Installation”, discloses a special purpose snake device intended to attach to a hooked end of a lead. The wire is attached to the lead and partially inserted into a wall from one side of the wall, then the snake device is inserted into the wall from the other side of the wall and positioned until it attaches the lead. The snake device is then withdrawn, drawing the lead and attached wire along with it. The use of these and other snake devices is problematic for numerous reasons. First, the creating of the hole through the wall and the insertion of the snake through that hole is indeterminate. Using a drill to make the hole does not account for the potential for obstructions within the wall to shift across the newly created hole once the drill is removed. Second, the wire must be attached to the device, which involved a degree of effort and time. As the wire is being drawn through the wall, the attachment of the wire to the snake may break, resulting in failure. Even if the wire doesn't break, it may be stretched or otherwise damaged while being pulled through whatever materials occupy the interior of the wall.
Another potential solution to this problem involves the use of a rigid or semi-rigid conduit through which to run the cabling. The conduit is inserted into the wall after the hole is drilled and the drilling tool is removed. Dickens, U.S. Pat. No. 6,840,483 (Jan. 11, 2005), “Cable Feed Bushing and Method of Installing a Cable through a Wall or Other Structure”, discloses a type of conduit, whereby the conduit itself (the “bushing”) is conical and has external threads and may be drilled into a wall by use of an auxiliary hand tool. This conduit is available only for walls having very little thickness, and does not work where obstructions exist within the wall itself. Howarth, U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,540 (May 11, 1982), “Blocking Feed-Through for Coaxial Cable”, is another example of the use of a conduit. It discloses a cylindrical conduit that is permanently fixed within a wall to receive a coaxial cable. It also discloses end caps for the conduit. However, there is no description of how the conduit is placed within the wall, nor for that matter how the hole in the wall is initially created in order to receive the conduit. The end caps are not intended to hold the conduit in place but rather to seal the ends of the conduit, along with a curable adhesive placed within the conduit and surrounding the coaxial cable. With any conduit device inserting the conduit into the walls is often just as difficult as inserting the cabling directly. This may be due to elements within the walls shifting upon withdrawal of the drill bit used to make the hole, so that even a fairly rigid conduit will strike obstructions and be prevented from penetrating in the desired manner. Even without the movement of obstructions within walls and a relatively free passage, simply aligning a conduit through the entrance hole, through the wall, and out the exit hole is a difficult task, in no small part because of the need to create entrance and exit holes as small as possible for aesthetic purposes. As such, sight lines are generally nonexistent and any attempts to run a conduit are exercises in trial and error.
The prior art does not disclose a satisfactory solution to the above-described problem, yet there remains a need in the construction industry for a tool to simply and efficiently allow the running of cabling within existing walls. The present invention is a solution to this problem.
The present invention seeks to alleviate the aforesaid problems by providing a tool which creates a hole for the cabling and a protected chaseway at the same time. This protected chaseway permits either the direct insertion of cabling or the insertion of a conduit, easily and quickly.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a useful, improved drilling tool that can be used to create a hole through existing walls and simultaneously a protected chaseway through which cabling may be inserted.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a useful, improved drilling tool that can be adapted to different structural conditions, including extra thick walls.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a useful, improved drilling tool that accommodates various types of cabling of various thicknesses.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a useful, improved drilling tool that is simple to use.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a useful, improved drilling tool that is cost efficient to manufacture.
Other objectives of the present invention will be readily apparent from the description that follows.